Undiagnosed Neurological Dysfunction

by Glen Depke

Neurological dysfunction is becoming a significant issue in our culture. The challenge is that most of these challenges can be addressed with lifestyle changes. Another issue is that most do not understand the red flags for neurological dysfunction. 

This subject really hits home for me since I was diagnosed as an epileptic earlier in my life and both my maternal grandmother and mother have had severe dementia. The good news on my diagnosed epilepsy is the fact that this is no longer an issue for me, due to the fact that I addressed all the underlying factors that lead to this neurological dysfunction. Actually, this is the very reason for my passion in assisting others in finding their personal health and happiness.

Let's first look at some typical symptoms of neurological dysfunction that may be recognized long before you would ever be diagnosed with a neurological disease.

• Burning feeling
• Fainting or change in level of consciousness or lethargy
• Involuntary muscle contractions
• Muscle weakness
• Numbness
• Pain from an origin that does not usually cause pain or that follows the course of a specific nerve
• Paralysis or inability to move a body part
• Pins-and-needles (prickling) sensation
• Sensitivity
• Tingling
• Difficulty chewing
• Digestive problems
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Nausea with or without vomiting
• Change in level of consciousness or alertness, such as passing out or unresponsiveness
• Difficulty swallowing
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Garbled or slurred speech or inability to speak
• Loss of muscle coordination
• Respiratory or breathing problems, such as shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, labored breathing, wheezing, not breathing, choking
• Seizures
• Sudden paralysis or inability to move a body part 

We can also look at a list of the most common diagnosed neurological disease. Note that there are more than 600 known diagnose neurological challenges. These are the most common.

• Alzheimer's
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Autism
• Cerebral Palsy
• Dementia
• Dyslexia
• Epilepsy
• Huntington's
• Migraine
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Parkinson's
• Stroke
• Traumatic Brain Injury

With this knowledge, it is now important to look at the common lifestyle challenges that create these issues for you. It is imperative that you address this now, rather than waiting until you find yourself with some serious issues.

Common causes of neurological dysfunction.

• Prolonged exposure to toxins such as lead, mercury, and other metals
• Gluten intolerance
• Cross reactive intolerance
• Adrenal insufficiency
• Excitotoxins
• Infection
• Nutritional deficiencies, especially of thiamine, niacin, and vitamins E, B1, B6 or B12
• Gastro-intestinal disorders
• Slipped vertebral disks or other spine conditions
• Compression, crushing or severing of nerves
• Detachment of nerves from the spinal cord
• Medication side effects
• Past head trauma  
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Lyme disease (inflammatory bacterial disease spread by ticks)
• Other bacterial and viral infections of the brain or meninges (membranes lining the brain and spinal cord)
• Systemic lupus erythematosus (disorder in which the body attacks its own healthy cells and tissues)
• Varicella-zoster virus infection (virus that causes chickenpox and shingles)
• Alcohol abuse
• Diabetes (chronic disease that affects your body’s ability to use sugar for energy)
• Hormonal disorders such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
• Vascular disorders
• Encephalitis (inflammation and swelling of the brain due to a viral infection or other causes)

Let's look at the first ten on this list and discuss what you can do about these leading causes of neurological disorders. 

Prolonged exposure to toxins such as lead, mercury, and other metals
Many people are living with heavy metal toxicity. In my opinion, a urine porphyrin test is the best way to assess your likelihood of metal toxicity. Mercury tends to be the most common as well as the most damaging as this metal is a known neurotoxin. Metal detoxification would be recommend but only after you have any potential silver amalgam fillings removed prior to detoxification. As a special note, you want your silver amalgams removed by a holistic or biological dentist that is trained in proper removal. If these are not removed properly, this could lead to further mercury damage. I would also recommend that you test your blood/brain barrier function prior to detoxification with a GABA challenge.
 

Gluten intolerance
For those with a gluten intolerance that continue to consume gluten, this creates gut inflammation and other gut challenges that also lead to challenges with neurological function. I would suggest assessing your likelihood of gluten intolerance here, and if this is likely a challenge for you, it is of utmost importance to remove gluten from your diet. The link above also contains a foods list for gluten products. Learn more about gluten here.
 
Cross reactive intolerance 
A gluten intolerance that is not addressed over time can lead to gluten cross reactive intolerance. To understand the role that cross reactive food plays in regard to neurological dysfunction, I would recommend a Cyrex Labs gluten cross reactive food testing.
 
Adrenal insufficiency
While your adrenals play a role in the whole of your body, there are some specific areas of adrenal function that play a significant role in neurological dysfunction. This would tie into detoxification, blood/brain barrier function, inflammation, and neural connectivity. Learn more about your adrenal function here.
 
Excitotoxins 
Excitotoxins have been shown to create neurological dysfunction and break down your blood/brain barrier. The most common excitotoxins are MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins and aspartate (NutraSweet.) It will be imperative for you to remove these from your diet.
 
Infection
Infection is a challenge for so many of my clients. The most common infections that I see on a consistent basis are gut related. A comprehensive stool test would play a significant role in understanding the pathogen issue for you. For other function in your body, I find the use of Applied Kiniseology to be a very valuable tool. 
 
Nutritional deficiencies, especially of thiamine, niacin, and vitamins E, B1, B6 or B12
Typically these deficiencies are tied into poor digestion. I would review gluten, cross reaction and infection above. I would also share that for proper digestion, the use of the Depke Wellness 1,2,3 of Digestion would be a key for you. This is the combination of a Prebiotic/Probiotic Formula, Prime Digestive Support and Prime Stomach Acid Support.
 
Gastro-Intestinal Disorders
See nutritional deficiencies above.
 
Slipped vertebral disks or other spine conditions
This is best addressed with a quality chiropractor. Personally I see a chiropractor that utilizes a form of treatment known as KST. You can find a KST chiropractor in your area of for those in Orange County visit this link.
 
Compression, crushing or severing of nerves
See the paragraph above and I would also recommend the use of DRX. For more information on DRX visit this link.
 
Medication side effects
This one is simple, yet can be so difficult for so many. Take care of your body and find your balance so you can eventually get off the medications that are creating neurological side effects for you. This is the whole concept of natural health.
 
Past head trauma
If you have had past head trauma, you may be dealing with long term brain inflammation and brain damage. Thankfully there are protocols to assist your body in releasing brain inflammation and supplements that can assist the brain in healing. A common recommendation for me is the use of VeinLite to improve circulation to the brain, Oxypower to assist in oxygen uptake in the brain and BrainE, which very simply is brain food (high in DHA.)

Addressing these areas listed above will go a long way in allowing your to forego neurological dysfunction.

If you have any comments or questions in regard to this article, leave a post below for me to address personally. 


 

Cancer and Inflammation

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

Today we will dive into the intimate relationship between cancer and inflammation. Before we do this, let's look at some simple stats.

This year alone, over 1.7 million Americans will be told that they "have" CANCER and 33% of those people will die. Every 30 seconds somebody is diagnosed with cancer. And the numbers continue to grow worse with each passing year, despite more medical inventions and technology promising early detection.

How about not partaking in this statistic? 

If this is your goal, you will definitely want to learn more about the inflammatory tie into cancer. Recognize that when I talk about inflammation I am discussing longer term chronic systemic inflammation. I am not referring to acute inflammation due to injury.

When you are living with long term chronic systemic inflammation, this would be referred to as an NF-kB state. Often clients will ask me what this stands for so here you go. This is a nuclear factor kappa beta state. I know, this does not help at all. To define this further will likely create the clarity you are looking for. NF-kB is a protein complex that controls the transcription of DNA. 

Sounds rather important in regard to cancer?

When an individual is living with chronic inflammation this leads to immune system dysregulation. Immune system dysregulation can and will hinder the body's apoptosis. We discussed this briefly a few weeks ago. To review, apoptosis is basically cellular suicide. Understand that the way your body was created, if a cell because "broken" that cell is actually programmed to commit suicide. This will inhibit that "broken" cell from becoming another "broken" cell and so on and so on. If apoptosis is not functioning properly due to immune system dysregulation, which is caused by chronic inflammation, this "broken" cell will continue to replicate. The long term result of this would be a major contributing factor to cancer.

I do want to be very clear that I am not saying that inflammation is the only cause of cancer but this is a major contributing factor as mentioned above.

Now that you understand the role chronic inflammation play in cancer, what causes the chronic inflammation? The main causes of chronic inflammation are listed below.

• Food intolerance such as gluten and similar cross reactive foods
• The standard American diet high in processed foods and sugar
• Chronic infection
• Chronic stress
• Chemotherapy
• Obesity
• Alcohol/drug addiction 

So the key to addressing cancer is addressing inflammation and the key to addressing inflammation is working on the areas above. Start by assessing your likelihood of gluten intolerance by taking this complimentary gluten assessment.

Focus on reducing your sugar and processed food intake as much as possible. There are also two tests that we would recommend with regularity to address the underlying factors of inflammation. Once is a Cyrex Labs Gluten Cross Reactive Food test and the other is a comprehensive stool collection kit to assess the likelihood of a chronic gut infection. We find gut infections to be a challenge with about 75% of our client base and an even higher percentage that are living with gluten and/or cross reactive intolerance.


It is also important to note that your adrenal gland function also play a significant role in your immune system regulation as well as inflammatory states. Trying to accomplish your inflammatory roles without assessing adrenal function and addressing this with a proper adrenal protocol, will hinder your progress. If you have heard me talk about adrenals before, remember that here at Depke Wellness, we have reviewed well over 4,000 adrenal test kits and have seen only 4 come back normal. In fairness, we work with health challenged individuals, but if you have a health challenge you have almost a 100% chance of living with an adrenal issue. Check your adrenal function now.

Once you have addressed these areas, you can then work on the chronic inflammation. This cannot be taken lightly though. The chronic inflammation needs a strong "kick in the head" to be eliminated. This "kick in the head" involves a specific combination of supplements, with proper dosing to assist the body in shifting out of the chronic inflammatory state.

Once you have addressed all the common causes of chronic inflammation to the best of your ability and you have begun an adrenal balancing protocol, you are ready to provide the strong "kick in the head" in regard to inflammation. This would have to be addressed one on one. When you feel that you are ready to accomplish this task, reach out to Depke Wellness at (949)954-6226 to set up your complimentary 20 minute phone consultation. 

Don't be a statistic in the cancer and inflammation world. Address the underlying factors of inflammation and keep your immune function and apoptosis is full function.

If you have any comments or questions in regard to this article, post these below for us to address personally.

Gluten & Autoimmunity

by Glen Depke

Autoimmunity is a much more significant issue than most are lead to believe. Today we will discuss autoimmunity deeper than in the past and discuss one of the biggest factors leading into autoimmunity, which is gluten.

Last weeks article "Thyroid Treatment...Ridiculous!" brought up the point that the higher percentage of individuals that are diagnosed with thyroid issues are actually dealing with autoimmunity and not a thyroid issue per say. 

This has to be addressed!

Understand that autoimmunity is not just a thyroid issue. This can lead to challenges throughout the body and most likely lead to issues in the gut/colon, skin, nervous system tissue, pancreas, liver, brain, joints as well as the thyroid.

Let's first define autoimmunity as a production of antibodies against the tissues of your own body, producing autoimmune disease or hypersensitivity reactions. I tend to refer to the hypersensitive reactions as an autoimmune reaction.

Before we move on let me shed some light on conventional medical diagnosis of an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease cannot be diagnosed until you are in a full out tissue destruction state. That would be like you lending me your car and I bring it back only to tell you that your brakes are shot. But then say, don't worry about fixing your brakes until you actually run into someone or something and you hurt someone or something or kill someone. 

This does not make sense, does it? 

Thankfully autoimmune reactions can be recognized much earlier and you can address this early in the game before it is a life altering issue for you. This can be realized by addressing one of the most significant percursors to autoimmunity, which is gluten.

Here are the early steps to be recognized: 

1. Test and recognize antibodies to the proteins in gluten for those without health symptoms.
2. Test and recognize antibodies to the proteins in gluten for those with health symptoms.
3. Test and recognize full blown tissue destruction.

So you get to pick at which level you would like to recognize this challenge. I don't know about you, but I know where I would want to pick this up at and honestly I can share that I found my answer about 6 years ago in the first and earliest stage. 

You could too.

You may ask, what is gluten or am I referring to Celiac disease?

First of all, gluten is defined as the mixture of proteins, including gliadins and glutelins, found in wheat grains, which are not soluble in water and which give wheat dough its elastic texture. Let's take this a bit further though to mention that gluten is in far more grains than just wheat. Wheat just happens to be the biggest culprit here.

The other referring to Celiac disease can best be put into this statement. A gluten intolerance would be an immune system reaction to the consumption of gluten while Celiac disease would be a full blown autoimmune reaction to gluten. A gluten intolerance would be recognized as tested gliaden or glutelin antibodies, while Celiac disease would be assessed as a autoimmune disease. It is recognized that currently, 1 in 100 people in the U.S. have Celiac disease but the numbers would be staggeringly higher for those that are simply gluten intolerant. A couple of other interesting facts is that 87.5% of those with Celiac disease are asymptomatic, which means they have zero gut symptoms. Only 12.5% actually have symptoms. 

I also want to mention that the correlation between gluten intolerance and future autoimmunity is extremely strong. So strong that it is suggested that a gluten intolerance that is not addressed will have almost a 100% likelihood of becoming an autoimmune issue within a 5 year time span.

Yikes!

Of those "not addressed" gluten intolerances, 33% will create gut inflammation and gut issues while the other 67% will create other negative symptoms of the body seemingly unrelated to the gut.

This is often why people do not want to even look at gluten. I'll hear comments like, "I know gluten is not an issue for me because my digestion is very healthy." 

My, how often they are surprised! 

As a person with a gluten intolerance progresses, this can be recognized in one of 3 ways:

• Intestinal challenges
• Silent or without symptoms
• Symptoms outside of the gut
• Nervous system
• Skin
• Hormonal
• Joints
• Other

Another big question I get with regularity is," Why is gluten such a big deal all of a sudden?" 

First of all, this is not all of a sudden. This has been progressing rapidly over the last 50 years. The biggest issue with this is what has happened to our grains and specifically wheat. Wheat is now a significantly genetically modified food. It is deamidated which is a processing to make gluten more water soluble, which in turn also makes it more inflammatory. It is stored for long periods. The typical turn around between wheat being harvested and ending up on your dinner table is 2 years. This is a long time to develop enterotoxin contamination. This is also exasperated by other factors such as hygiene, leaky gut, chronic stress, poor nutrition and enzyme insufficiency.

While some people have to stay away from gluten containing products at all times, there are other that can do quite fine consuming gluten products in other areas of the world, such as Europe due to the fact that gluten products are not genetically modified or deamidated. In other words, often subjects have no reaction to a true native wheat flour but have severe reactions to deamidated wheat flour.

Get this...this is not a trend...this is real! 

So for those of you reading this today, what percentage of you actually are gluten intolerance? Is this 50%, 70% or even closer to 90%. I would suggest higher rather than lower.

So what do you do now?

• First take the gluten intolerance assessment which is complimentary at Depke Wellness. Click here for you free assessment.
• If you find score a 5 or above, I would recommend you do one of two things. First if possible, via testing assess antibodies to gliadins and/or glutelins as well as the wheat germ. If you do not have this as an option, I would eliminate gluten from your diet. For those testing, it is extremely likely that you would be eliminating gluten after reviewing test results.
• Test for other cross reactive foods or go on an anti inflammatory diet for at least 30 days, and slowly reintroduce the eliminated foods to assess your reactive states.
• Test for autoimmunity within your body.
• From here, there are supplement protocols to address the gut, brain and immune damage as well as intervention to assist with chronic inflammation. There are also protocols to support immune system regulation and assist with regaining balance in your immune function.

I understand that this may seem like an insurmountable task for many but trust me, it is much easier than dealing with the symptoms of tissue destruction of an autoimmune disease.


Remember, you can address an autoimmune reaction long before it is a full blown autoimmune disease and an unaddressed gluten intolerance is one of the biggest factors to address for most.


For those choosing to eliminate gluten, first off, congratulations. This is a significant commitment to health and happiness. Second, there is another complimentary download for you at Depke Wellness. You can get a free list of Gluten Foods in Categories that makes this commitment much easier. Get your list now.
 

Glen Depke

If you have any comments or questions in regard to this article, please leave them below and they will be addressed personally.

Gluten, the Silent Killer

by Glen Depke

I say silent killer because most are not aware of their own personal challenges with gluten. The long term response by your body can be chronic health issues and yes, even death.

When you visit restaurants and grocery stores these days, you will find quite and array of gluten free foods. Understand that when something such as gluten intolerance because so recognizably dangerous to the general public, even big business jumps in.

Gluten is a real problem and in no way a reoccurring fad!

Gluten is a major contributing factor to many chronic ailments including but not limited to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers and brain disorders such as dementia and depression. 

Complimentary Gluten Assessment.

The biggest challenge for us is wheat but gluten is also within rye, spelt, bulgar, semolina, couscous, triticale, and durum flour. Gluten can also be hidden in so many of the foods we eat so you also have to be very careful with reading labels. Be wary of modified food starch, dextrin, flavorings and extracts, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, imitation seafood, and creamed products such as soups, stews and sauces.

With wheat being the most significant factor when discussing gluten, did you know that the average American now consumes approximately 55 pounds of wheat flour per year. Wow!

Since the biggest challenge is wheat, let's look at the main culprit.

Did you know that today's wheat would barely be recognizable some years ago? Wheat is now a dwarfed, weakened and genetically manipulated likeness of itself. The scary fact is that modern wheat has been manipulated to produce a higher yielding plant that contains much higher amounts of starch and gluten.

Both of these are an issue.

The higher starch creates significant blood sugar and insulin issues, eventually leading to disorders within the endocrine system such as diabetes and adrenal challenges. This is just the start of the problems though.

From a gluten perspective, it is my understanding that wheat used to contain approximately 3% gluten, yet after genetic manipulation, it now contains approximately 50% gluten. While if may create a better bread product, is it really worth it?

The answer is a resounding, NO!

Please recognize that a gluten intolerance does not necessarily mean you have Celiac Disease. If you have a negative test result to Celiac this is not free game on gluten. Even low level gluten intolerance can create significant health issues that honestly, you do not have to endure.

So what do you do now?

Here's an easy way for you to gain some personal knowledge for your likelihood of being gluten intolerant.  Feel free to visit our website to take your complimentary Gluten Intolerance Assessment and if you find that gluten is a challenge for you, we also supply you a complimentary list of Gluten Foods in Categories.

This assessment and food list is our gift to you. Please take advantage of it, it may just save your life!

If you would like to visit the Depke Wellness Gluten Intolerance page to view a video or further information follow this link.

If you have any comments or questions to this article, please leave a response below for us to respond to personally.

Celebrate 100 Consecuctive Depke Wellness Newsletters!

by Glen Depke

Today is actually number 100! Yes, this is 100 consecutive weeks of research, articles, blogging, and releasing health information to you.

I have to say that it is a pleasure for Depke Wellness to provide this for you and we trust that you can feel our joy and excitement through our articles, blogs and videos. This is all a labor of love, except of course for the occasional technical difficulties. LOL!

With all the excitement behind us we want to share that there is so much more building. Coming up as we speak, our website, newsletter and blog is undergoing quite a facelift. We are going to be providing additional online assessments to...

• Assess your Nutritional ID
• Assess your Adrenal Fatigue
• Assess your Gluten Intolerance
• Video introduction into the healing protocols used by Depke Wellness
• And so much more

We are also changing the Depke Wellness Store...

• Adding a Kids Supplement area
• Adding the line of homemade soaps, candles and so much more from Dawn's line of sacred scents
• Increasing the video availability of every aspect of Depke Wellness Protocols
• Adding more easily absorbed and assimilated liquid based supplements

We also wanted to share that we are going to be offering a variety of games, giveaways and fun in building our newsletter list this year. We have been sending our newsletter to approximately 1100 individuals over the past 2 years and we are making the commitment to reach out to 10,000 total by the end of 2012.

For every new person that views our newsletter, blog and website, that is simply one more person that will be provided with a deeper level of understanding in regard to natural health, natural healing protocols, and the underlying core values of our health and happiness.

Remember, Depke Wellness is not only about wellness for yourself, but Wellness for the World!

Do You "Get" What Gluten is Doing to You?

by Glen Depke

If you have not noticed yet, the shelves in the grocery stores carry quite a bit of gluten free items. So do you thing this is some new taste craze or some new way of preparing food that benefits the manufacturers?

Absolutely not!

There is so much gluten free food on the market because even conventional wisdom has caught on to the fact that gluten is actually killing people. Well now, to be real, it will never say that on the death certificate but it may as well.

Before I go further with this, let me be clear that not everyone has a gluten intolerance. Actually, in other countries gluten is not even as big of a challenge as here in the US and Canada. The challenge is both the modification of the wheat kernel as well as the processing and storing of these dangerous grains.

I have been promoting and discussing eating a gluten free lifestyle for some time now and I have to say that both personally and professionally, I have seen some dramatic results across the board. Heck, I even have clients telling me that they share my gluten intolerance assessment with their friends and/or loved ones. Often the success shared by these fortunate souls is miraculous. It sounds to good to be true, but if you have a gluten intolerance and you stop consuming gluten containing products, your entire life can make a positive turn for the better. I see it all the time in my clinic.

I wasn't looking to write an article getting into gluten containing foods or the multiple of health challenges potentially created by consuming gluten. You can find this in a past article I wrote by following this link here.

My motivation for writing this article is so more people would actually assess their likelihood of a gluten intolerance and learn more about living a gluten free life. If just one person reading this article assesses their level of gluten intolerance and removes gluten from their life to enjoy health and happiness...well then, it was all worth it.

To assess your own level of gluten intolerance you can visit the Depke Wellness, Gluten Intolerance page and scroll down to take the gluten intolerance questionnaire at no cost to you. What a combo, no cost and potentially life saving.

Visit this link to take your free test today. If you find yourself as somewhat likely or very likely to be gluten intolerant, it would be a magnificent idea to remove gluten from your diet. If this is the case, you will find a gluten free foods in categories list by following this link and scrolling down to the bottom of the page.

This is a FREE questionnaire and information because it is just that important. For the stubborn individuals that recognize that gluten is an issue but you need more proof to give this up, you can contact me directly for a blood test that will put your mind at ease.

If you have any comments or questions in regard to this article, leave a post below and I will answer this personally.

The Standard American Diet Experiment

by Glen Depke

OK, so most of you know me by now and understand the I hold a high level of nutritional integrity. You may wonder what I mean by this. To put it simply, this is my typical nutritional plan.

•  I follow a version of a protein type meal plan
• Almost always include a protein, carbohydrate and fat together for my meals 
• Utilize probiotics daily as well as a digestive enzyme with any cooked food meal
•  I typically eat gluten only about 2 to 4 times all year (Save those times for some of my old favorites)
•  I rarely eat corn or grains
•  I drink 2-3 sodas all year and only those with real sugar, none of that high fructose poison or even worse the sugar substitute poisons
•  I do occasionally have some wine, a cocktail or gluten free beer
•  Always make the effort to eat the best possible food source available
• Overall I am not perfect nutritionally but I eat very well about 90% of the time, which is exactly what I teach most of my clients

Based on my general meal plan and overall health plan, I will share that my mental/emotional health and clarity is very strong and my memory is definitely above average. My energy is typically high physically, mentally and emotionally during most moments and I sleep well, while waking ready to rock and roll.

Well with that said, I will share that I performed an experiment the past 6 days.

I went back to the Chicago area to visit my family and friends for a 6 day trip. During this trip, I made the choice to try some old food favorites from back in the day. Here is a list of some of the foods I experimented with.

•  Pizza twice (yes, with gluten containing crust)
• An Italian beef sandwich (with the bread) and French fries
•  A gyro (with the pita) and French fries
• 1-3 drinks 3 out of the 6 days (1 gluten containing beer)
• 2 milk shakes (chocolate of course)
• Some pringles

Now when I was not eating or drinking the above foods I was making the best choices available. I stopped at Whole Foods and picked up some organic free range fertile eggs, kombucha and some filtered water. I brought with me some raw soaked almonds and when I was out, I did make positive choices when I was not experimenting with the (SAD) foods above.

So what do you think was the response to my experiment?

Well number one, even though I still went to bed early most evenings and had adequate sleep, I never felt completely rested. I did not wake with that same vigor. I also had a tough time maintaining energy through the day and was often exhausted into the evening. My bowel movements, while normal in regard to quantity, were definitely challenged in quality. I was bloated with consistency. My memory was severely challenged. Heck, I had to call my bank to let them know I was out of state on vacation to allow use of my credit card and I couldn’t remember my street address to save my life. I also noticed that I was not the same man emotionally. I felt as if others thought I was a crab a_ _ at times.

All from 9 poor choices over a 6 day period!

Overall I think you can see the effect that just a small amount of the (SAD) can have on your sleep, your energy, your digestive system and your mental/emotional health.

I remember the day that I had the gyro plate with fries, it was so yummy that I took the left overs back to eat the next day. When I spent the entire day belching up the gyro, I threw it out because I simply could not go through that again.

So here are the key points to understand. The standard American diet (SAD) in even very small amounts on a consistent basis is very detrimental to your health. It is so important to make a commitment to quality nutritional choices at least 90% of the time.

Think of it this way. If you eat 3 meals per day, which is what I would typically recommend, you would consume 21 meals in one week’s time. 90% would be eating quality foods, right for your Nutritional ID, for 19 of those meals. The other 2 meals, do what you want. Be open to some of your old favorites as long as they do not contain intolerant foods, such as gluten if you have a gluten intolerance. This creates a freedom and removes the restrictions that can stifle most.

When you begin eating in this way and your energy, physically, mentally and emotionally improves on every level it then becomes easier to make your own choice to cut back on the challenging meals for yourself. You’ll begin to get addicted to feeling good!

Thankfully, I am on the plane and heading back to California. Can’t wait to get back to my regular eating plan and feeling amazing! While some of those old favorites still taste so good, they simply are not worth the pain and discomfort.

The taste of some of our poor quality nutritional favorites does not come close to the way amazing feels!

If you are already eating well and feeling the benefits of this, please pat yourself on the back and be an example for so many others. If you are eating the (SAD) let my experiment be a lesson for you and understand that there are some incredible levels of health waiting for you simply by improving your digestion and eating well.

You can do it!

I wanted to share a late entry to this article. Remember, I originally wrote this on my plane ride back to California. Well, after being back a few days, I found myself challenged with a bacterial infection that I picked up somewhere during my travels that really took me down for a few days.

Do I think this was a coincidence or did my poor choices leave me suspect to this? I think you already know my answer to this.

If you would like to learn more about improving your digestion, assessing food intolerance or assessing your Nutritional ID, register here for a complimentary 20 minute phone conversation with me personally.

As always, if you have any comments or questions in regard to the article, feel free to post these below for me to answer personally.

Gluten Intolerance Questionnaire

www.DepkeWellness.com

Gluten intolerance has been found to be most common among people of Irish, English, Scottish, Scandinavian, and Eastern European. Often times it is assumed that gluten intolerance is a food allergy, but it is not. It is actually an autoimmune process, which affects an alarming percentage of the population. The most significant symptoms are weight gain, fatigue and depression.

The following questionnaire is an assessment tool to help you to understand the symptoms and signs that are likely to go along with gluten intolerance.

Do any of the following currently apply to you? Not necessarily in the moment, but during this time of your life.

Yes/No: Weight gain
Yes/No: Unexplained fatigue
Yes/No: Difficulty relaxing, feel tense frequently
Yes/No: Unexplained digestive problems
Yes/No: Female hormone imbalances, (PMS, menopausal symptoms)
Yes/No: Muscle or joint pain or stiffness of unknown cause
Yes/No: Migraine like headaches
Yes/No: Food allergies/sensitivities
Yes/No: Difficulty digesting dairy products
Yes/No: Tendency to over consume alcohol
Yes/No: Overly sensitive to physical and emotional pain, cry easily
Yes/No: Cravings for sweets, bread, carbohydrates
Yes/No: Tendency to overeat sweets, bread, carbohydrates
Yes/No: Abdominal pain or cramping
Yes/No: Abdominal bloating or distention
Yes/No: Intestinal gas
Yes/No: “Love” specific foods
Yes/No: Eat when upset, eat to relax
Yes/No: Constipation or diarrhea of no known cause
Yes/No: Unexplained skin problems/rashes
Yes/No: Difficulty gaining weight

Have you suffered from any of the following conditions at any point in your life?

Yes/No: Allergies
Yes/No: Depression
Yes/No: Anorexia
Yes/No: Bulimia
Yes/No: Rosacea
Yes/No: Diabetes
Yes/No: Osteoporosis/bone loss
Yes/No: Iron deficiency/anemia
Yes/No: Chronic fatigue
Yes/No: Irritable bowel syndrome
Yes/No: Crohn’s disease
Yes/No: Ulcerative colitis
Yes/No: Candida
Yes/No: Hypoglycemia
Yes/No: Lactose intolerance
Yes/No: Alcoholism

Test Interpretation Guide (combine both sections)
Number of “Yes” Responses

Potential for Gluten Intolerance

4 or less = Not likely

5 – 8 = Suspected

9 or more = Very likely

A special thank you to Dr. Daniel Kalish for the use of this questionnaire.
Dr. Daniel Kalish
www.drkalish.com
800.616.7708
2105 Industrial Court, Vista, CA 92081

Give the Gift of Health

Are you or someone you love faced with the pain and suffering of health challenges and you do not know where to start? If this the case, Depke Wellness has an answer for you.

From now throughout the rest of the year, Depke Wellness is offering the Gift of Health. If you have been following our newsletter for some time you understand the importance of your fundamentals of health, digestion and adrenal balance. This is the basis core of health for all of us.

As a holiday gift for yourself or a loved one, we are offering an exceptional package to address your health and wellness goals.

* Depke Wellness 7 Part Video Series on the Fundamentals of Health
* Understanding Gluten Intolerance DVD
* One 90 Count Bottle of the Probiotic that I use Personally
* One 90 Count Bottle of the Prime Digestive Support
* One Adrenal Saliva Kit
* One 30 Minute Phone Consult to Review Adrenal Results

Normally this would be a cost of $413.65 but for this Gift of Health, your cost will be ONLY $297.00 for this complete package. FREE shipping in the continental US and Canada.

To complete this purchase email me directly at Glen@DepkeWellness.com or call my office at 949.642.2094.

Is High Blood Pressure a Disease?

by Glen Depke

I have seen more and more new clients in my office lately that are challenged with hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. This has at times been shared by my clients as a disease that they have been diagnosed with that needs to be treated by medicine. So the question is, “Is this really a disease?”

If you do not already know this I will share that the answer is, absolutely not. While this is not a disease, it is often a symptom of stress or serious malnutrition.

Let’s understand that when we are talking about blood pressure, we are discussing your body’s ability to move your blood throughout your body to every aspect of your being to nourish the cells of your body and assist in removing cellular waste. When your body determines that it does not have the ability to move your blood in an optimal manner, your heart will pump harder to achieve this goal. Obviously, if this is determined by your body, it is a need.

Also understand that your blood pressure raises based on any fight or flee response that your body/mind can be currently responding to. Often we experience white coat syndrome, that is often the factually reaction to having your blood pressure taken in the doctor’s office. I would estimate that there are many individuals wrongly placed on meds for hypertension due to this white coat syndrome. I can remember in the past, showing up for a doctor’s appointment after being stuck in traffic and running late. When they took my blood pressure, it was off the charts. I explained what happened and they took it again at the end of my appointment and it was back to normal. What if I was put on meds because I did not open my mouth and share my experience that lead to the high readings?

There are other factors that may skew your blood pressure readings, such as consuming coffee or high sugar prior to having your blood pressure measured. Just drinking a simple cup of coffee can raise your blood pressure 10 points or more.

Another factor is smoking. Did you know that by lighting up and “enjoying?” your cigarette can increase your blood pressure by as much as 15-20 points?

We often hear that using salt raises blood pressure but I find this to be the case with the approximate 15% of the population that is salt sensitive or more of the case that conventional table salt is sodium and chloride and simply not the natural product as it is meant to be used. Since typical table salt is limited to only two minerals this often leads to an imbalance in sodium/potassium levels which leads to high blood pressure.

Kidney disease of liver stagnation can also lead to hypertension and need to be addressed if this is the issue. This is obviously best addressed by your doctor or natural health practitioner.

Atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis should not be overlooked either. This narrowing of the arterial system by deposits such as calcium, cholesterol or other blood constituents is commonly referred to as atherosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is a thickening, stiffening and calcification of the artery walls, which can increase pressure because of a lessened diameter. These conditions are often due to an inflammatory challenge that causes a rupture of the inner lining of the artery wall and creates a perfect circumstance for the formation of plaque.

Let’s not forget that we mentioned nutritional deficiencies also and we will address this.

To address the stress factor, this could be as easy as practicing some deep belly breathing. This has a strong physical and emotionally relaxing effect on the body and should be used on a regular basis. I would also recommend consistent deep belly breathing when you know your blood pressure is going to be assessed. This will give you a higher chance of gaining a true reading for yourself. You could also use techniques such as ERT as used in my clinic.

Obviously the best way to address the smoking tie into hypertension is to stop smoking, but we can recognize that this is easier said than done for many. I recommend that quitting smoking be a part of a whole health program and to address this after you have shifted to positive health practices on the basic levels. I would suggest that you start by looking at your fundamentals of health and work from there.

Next we will discuss salt and nutrition together. From the nutritional perspective, I would suggest you search through our gluten intolerance page as well as nutritional ID. In regard to salt, it is best to use a high quality salt product such as the product we use in our home, Himalayan salt. This is not just a sodium/chloride product, but the full complement of some 80 or so naturally occurring minerals. This will not create the same stealing of other important minerals in the body, especially potassium.

Often when you look at minerals that are typically found to be depleted in hypertension individuals, this would include potassium, calcium and magnesium. Often by supplementing with these minerals there is a natural balance in blood pressure, especially when used in conjunction with the other tips in this article. When I am addressing this with my patients, I use liquid ionized forms of these individual minerals when available for the best possible absorption and assimilation.

If kidney disease is part of your problem, I would suggest eliminating all coffee, tea, alcohol and high sugar beverages. I would also never use tap water for drinking, showering or bathing. Drink approximately one quart of water for every fifty pounds of body weight daily and dry skin brush before your morning shower every day. Start with this and work with a qualified natural health practitioner to address balance within your kidneys.

If liver congestion is involved in your hypertension, I would also recommend working with a qualified natural health practitioner to assist in balancing your liver function.

As far as atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis are concerned you may want to research oral or intravenous chelation as this has been reported to assist on this level. I would also address the underlying causes of these challenges since this is generally caused by free radical activity and oxidative stress created by poor life style choices. A highly absorbable product that can assist with this free radical activity and oxidative stress is the Isotonix OPC-3.

So recognize that high blood pressure is not a disease and address the underlying challenges tied into this challenge. Very often when you take care of these areas the body is able to bring you back to a state of balance. Feel free to post any comments or questions for me to address personally.